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Friday, March 27, 2015

Thursday's Tumbles and Stumbles: Dry Needling Finally!

As you may have read a few weeks ago, my dry Needling PT had to return to Scotland because his mother had a bad turn health wise. Well, she passed on to Glory so my appointment was postponed until the 20th. I was in limbo between my Botox injections kicking in and the next scheduled appointment with my therapist. As a result my spasticity returned to where my elbow locked into a 45 degree angle and my foot inverted enough to raise a sore, reddish spot on my foot, it did not rupture. Thank God, but it did make getting about a bit more difficult. The elbow locked with spasticity almost nonstop was a far cry better than it being tight against my chest so the dry needling is working.

Also as a result of my therapist working to release my steel trap (trapezius muscle in my shoulder), it worked so well that I began noticing the tightness of the other side. More like a chronic ache more than pain. My trap on my affected side was still tightening, but not near as much as my unaffected side. Mind you, I'm not complaining. It's just an observation.

The spasticity wasn't even back square one when my therapist came back which is a HUGE blessing. So I'm hopeful that maybe this new therapy for my spasticity will work for the long term. At least that's what I'm praying for. But honestly, just getting full relief of any sort has been a blessing. I've struggled with the pain for far too long. You just can't imagine how liberating being free of pain really is unless you've dealt with chronic, long term pain.

An update on my hubby dearest, Spring has sprung with a little bounce back. He has lost another pound. :( But in spite of that, he's in good spirits. He even played a game of "Go Fish" with our 13 and 8-year old grandsons last week before he had to rest.

This past Monday, he asked if he could sit outside on the front porch. This is the first time in 18 months that he has actually been outside the house for more than five minutes. It's been in the 70s/low 80s here during the day. So it is Spring. The No-See-ems (gnats) were out in force once the sun set though. Yeah, I'm allergic to those too with the same kinds of reactions as to mosquito bites. So I brought him inside again, but he was relaxed and almost chipper. He was also ready for another nap. The fresh air did him some good because his skin was not the usual gray colored.

He asked if he could go for a drive sometime next week. No, not him driving. I just have to figure out how to get him into the car with his oxygen with only one hand so I'm glad her's given me a week. He hasn't been for a drive since I brought him home from the hospital 18 months ago too. I mean gasoline prices here have dropped from almost $4 a gallon to $2, but everything else has doubled in price since then.

I'm not hopeful at these signs of enjoying life again by him. I fear it's the high before the crash. I've seen this too many times before. But I can revel in it while it lasts.

My BFF, I've got only one, lives in New York. Don't get me wrong. I have friends and a few very close friends, but she is my only best friend for life. We've been friends since 1968. It was about the only time I went a full year in an American school when we met. We became fast friends, pen pals, confidant, and a host of other things despite the distance and years.

We never saw each other again until 1977 and I was pregnant with my oldest daughter. But even so, we were the same fast friends. What our dads called "gaggy girls." It was like no time had past. I spent two days reminiscing with my old friend. To date we haven't seen each other since, but the letters, phone calls, and emails traverse the country back and forth.

Well, she suffered a stroke last year with no permanent damage. Once again, the emails flew. In January, she had another stroke. She was lucky and unlucky with the second. Lucky because one she survived, and two only minimal sensory damage. She was unlucky because she now suffers with aphasia. While she can actually speak the words aren't coming as easily as before and tend to be disjointed.

Now I wouldn't wish a stroke on my worst enemy let alone on my BFF. But, once again we share in this. She's older than me by a couple of months, but she calls me wiser. Why? I've always been able to break things down so they make sense to her. By me having a stroke first this time, I can help her heal, understand and recover. But in the meantime, I can give her love and support just like I always have. Who knows, maybe we'll see each other again in the future. Until then there's emails and Facebook.